ROCHESTER, NY — After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, all eyes have been on his potential policies upon his return to the White House.

One item on the president-elect’s to-do list is getting rid of the U.S. Department of Education. The agency has been around for 45 years, has more than 4,000 employees and has a budget of $80 billion. Trump says he wants states to control schools, a position that Rochester Teachers Union Association President Adam Urbanski disagrees with.

“That would be heartless. It would be cruel and we would strongly oppose it,” Urbanski said.

Ubranski says eliminating the department would have a negative impact on students, particularly children from low-income backgrounds and with learning disabilities. Much of the money for education programs helps them.

He wants to maintain federal protections for all students. The purpose of creating the Department of Education during President Jimmy Carter’s term was to supplement the education of students most in need. To achieve gender equity, racial equity, and justice in helping children with learning disabilities, all of these things are funded by the Department of Education.

Kimberly DeRosa, a former Republican candidate for the New York State Assembly’s 135th District, says she agrees with Trump and looks forward to eliminating the department.

“I think it will be a positive thing for our country because it will just mean that we as Americans will save federal money.” Our tax dollars,” DeRosa said.

Trump’s plan also aims to restrict the type of courses that can be taught in schools. And while the president-elect pushed for it during his first term without success, DeRosa believes this time it will come to fruition.

“Parents can have more authority. I look forward to school choice as a federal opportunity, as well as so that parents can also have more opportunities in the education that children receive,” DeRosa said.

The Department of Education funds schools with high populations of low-income students and programs that support special education services.

For it to be abolished, a motion must be passed by the House and Senate. Republicans will now control the Senate, and as the vote count continues, the House of Representatives is still up for grabs.

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